On Tuesday morning, Brian Belichick was just one of the defensive assistants – along with offensive assistants – that met with the media inside Gillette Stadium.

For the Belichick kids, hearing their father’s name dragged through social media, on the radio and on various national media outlets is nothing new, especially whenever the franchise that was so successful for 20 years has such an ugly down period like its having right now.

Brian spoke about that noise and what it means to him to hear it.

“We know that my dad – who’s been the head coach here for a long time – works harder than anyone to make this team the best team that he can,” he said. “When he says he makes decisions in the best interest of the football team, he really means that and it’s always his goal. That’s one of the core things that’s made this place so successful over the years, is that the head coach sets the standard for work and doing what’s best for the team and that it’s whatever we can do to make each other better and the team better, that’s what we’re trying to do. We all see that example and try to do that ourselves.”

If nothing else, hearing your dad’s name dragged through the mud can be quite a motivating thing, and that’s exactly what it’s doing for the Belichick kids.

“As far as our dad being criticized, we’ve been dealing with that our whole lives,” Brian added with a bit of a grin. “Honestly, it kind of helps you block out everything and focus on what’s important. Of course (it’s motivating). I’d say generally, when there’s a lot of noise both positive and negative, the best thing you can do is try to block it out and focus on what’s important, which is helping the players be as successful as they can on the field.

“There’s a lot of things that go into that and they all take place in this building. No disrespect (to the media), but not with reporters. So (the criticism), it is what it is.”